#Restoration Step 1

Most Americans agree that we need restoration, at least at some level, in our nation. Of course as a Christian I can’t help but see all of the ways in which our national leaders have rejected God. As a result, we’ve seen negative societal change for several decades now. If this is truly the case, then what are the steps to restoration?

We don’t have to look far. Dozens of great examples are contained in the bible. One, in particular, caught my attention this morning – the story of King Hezekiah.

First, let me give you a little background. Hezekiah’s grandfather was King Jotham. He was a good man and did what was right in God’s eyes, but he failed as a leader and did not enter the temple of the Lord. Therefore, “the people continued to act corruptly,” (2 Chron 27:2), and the next generation suffered for it.

It doesn’t take long for bad leadership to trickle down to the kids, so when Jotham’s son, Ahaz – Hezekiah’s dad – became king he was a bad man and even worse leader. It wasn’t enough for him to simply not enter the temple as his father had done, but he “burned his sons in the fire” to a pagan god (2 Chron 28:3). This is what happens when good men – like Jotham – fail as fathers. They produce Ahaz’s that go off the deep end and take the nation with them.

But there’s always hope, and it was only one generation away. Hezekiah took over for his dad, Ahaz, at the age of 25. He was a good man, and an even better leader. His goal was to restore the nation back to her greatness – and he did it, both socially and economically (wouldn’t that be nice for America).

Step 1 of Hezekiah’s #restoration program was to “open the doors of the house of the Lord” (2 Chron 29:1). That’s it! He took his nation back to the very place where their strength could be found – in God alone. He could’ve made alliances with Egypt or Assyria and seen incredible financial success, but he knew where the proper foundation of a nation was found – only in the God who “exalts nations” through righteousness (Prov 14:34).

There are many steps after this, as we’ll explore later. But returning back to God is Step 1 in the #Restoration process! This is where we are in America today – the question is what will we do?